Sacred Hunger cover art

Sacred Hunger

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Sacred Hunger

By: Barry Unsworth
Narrated by: David Rintoul
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About this listen

1752, the Liverpool Merchant sets sail from Merseyside. A slaver, she is bound for Africa to buy men and transport them in chains across the Atlantic. But aboard ship disease thrives in the cramped hold, killing men and eating into profit. Captain Thurso insists on throwing the sick overboard, to the horror of Matthew Paris, ship's surgeon, who determines to prevent such barbarity. Meanwhile, back home, Erasmus Kemp, cousin of Paris and son of the Liverpool Merchant's owner, finds his fortune hanging in the balance: dependent on the success or failure of a single voyage....

©1992 Barry Unsworth (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Historical Fiction Romance Sailing Africa

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All stars
Most relevant
The actor did well, but I had to adjust my headphones constantly due to bad soundmixing whenever the actor changed character.

Great Story, bad sound edit

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This book did two things for me. it really brought home the horror if the slave trade, and the misery, not only of the people put into slavery, but of the sailors who worked on the slave ships. It is not just about the wrongs of slavery though. The book also explored the range of human motivation, from the pursuit of profit to jealousy and misplaced blame, to selfish calculation and the danger of not thinking through the potential consequences of one's actions.
A good book if you want lots of ideas to think about.

A book about slavery and human nature

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What a great book. Such a brilliant way of tackling a difficult subject. There are moments of comedy, moments of pain, hope, sadness, and moments that are difficult to listen to. As an Englishman this is my shameful past, and this book helps me to understand why and how the slave trade took place. The craziness of the backstory of the little play is a great method of showing the mindset of the time. I recommend that you listen to this book.

Entertaining, upsetting, educational

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would definitely recommend this. Fascinating historical novel.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sacred Hunger?

The realisation of what had happened to the people on board the Liverpool Merchant.

Have you listened to any of David Rintoul’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I've always admired him as an actor - the best Mr Darcy! I haven't listened to any other books but will definitely look out for more.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A shameful past.

Any additional comments?

A worthy Booker winner.

Brilliantly narrated

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Joint winner of the 1992 Booker Prize (shared with The English Patient) Sacred Hunger is widely regarded as Unsworth's best book. Historical fiction is sometimes looked down, perhaps because of its association with Romance. Sacred Hunger is not a Romance. It recounts the voyage of a ship, the Liverpool Merchant, on a voyage to trade in slaves between Africa and Jamaica. Set in the Georgian Era, it reflects the attitudes and morals of the time in a "Show, don't tell" manner - leaving the readers to make their own judgements.

I don't usually award 5 stars for narration but David Rintoul was perfect, clear, well paced and his command of accents was exceptional - I especially enjoyed Billy Blair's geordie pidgin when taking to the slaves.

Show, don't tell

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